女性與政治：湯瑪斯艾列特的《為好女人辯護》與十六世紀人文學者的「女主寶鑑」

Women and Politics: Sir Thomas Elyot's "The Defence of Good Women" and the Sixteenth-Century Humanists' "Mirror-for-Princesses"

10.6258/bcla.2001.55.04

林美香(May-Shine Lin)

十六世紀英國史 ； 女性 ； 政治 ； 人文主義 ； sixteenth-century ； England ； women ； politics ； humanism

臺大文史哲學報

55期（2001 / 11 / 01）

131 - 164

繁體中文

歐洲中古末期到文藝復興時期展開的「女性問題論戰」（querelle des femmes），產生了許多以討論女性優劣問題為主的作品，其中湯瑪斯艾列特（Sir Thomas Elyot）在1540年出版的《為好女人辯護》（The Defence of Good Women），是英國地區針對此議題所發表的第一本著作。本文要指出的是《辯護》不僅是「女性問題論戰」的一部份，更應該視為一部「女主寶鑑」（mirror-for-princesses）。它為英國王室和貴族女子提出培養道德、統治能力和統治形象的建議，同時也反映了當時女性在政治上的影響力。本文分為六節，前兩節分別從「女性問題論戰」和「女主寶鑑」探討《辯護》一書的特質與屬性。第三、四節分析艾列特如何論證女子的價值與德性，特別著重於他討論女人能否獲取知識與道德、女人是否是不完美的動物、女人能否統治等問題；並且將《辯護》一書與其他人文學者所寫的女性寶鑑加以比較，以檢驗他們對女性參政的態度。第五節指出本書的價值不僅在於主張女子有能力治理國家，也提供了女性統治者塑造形象的典範，做為仿效的標準。第六節為結語，簡短討論《辯護》一書可能存在的影響力。

Sir Thomas Elyot's ”Defence of Good Women”, published in 1540, has been considered as the first English defense of women in Renaissance querelle des femmes. However, this essay argues that it is not only a literary or rhetorical exercise against the negative arguments in the querelle controversy, but also a ”mirror-for-princesses.” In this respect, it should be regarded as an advice-book written for the English noblewomen and queens to cultivate their virtues and ideal images. This essay is divided into six sections. The first two sections discuss the genre of the ”Defence” according to querelle des femmes and mirror-for-princesses respectively. Then, the third and fourth sections articulate Elyot's arguments that verify women's virtues and worthiness and their competence as rulers. With regard to those controversial topics, such as whether the woman is capable of acquiring virtues and knowledge and whether she is allowed to rule, these two sections also compare Elyot's ideas with those of their humanists. The fifth section examines another important aspect of the ”Defence” about the ideal ruling queen's image, on which Elyot might ask a female ruler to model. This ideal image is indeed the self-cultivation of both masculinity and femininity. Finally, the concluding section speculates on Elyot's influence on the queens of Tudor England.

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